[attr="class","smdbody"] the girl blinked, taken aback by the stranger's casual greeting as she shifted her focus away from her respective companions. the eevee and quilava that were presently at her feet raised their gazes, looks of curiosity tugging at their soft features. 

"hm?" 

ash blinked before she managed a half-decent response. 

"uh, i guess." 

her attention shifted toward the sky and its remarkable blue stretch before refocusing on her recently acquired quilava.  the fire-type - his name being honou - was beginning to gradually adjust to ash and her respective companions. despite his original mistress's recent passing, he had acclimated himself to his new lot in life in a short period of time, and had come to accept his place among the fighter's ever-growing team. 

"what was i saying again?" 

ash didn't bother indulging in conversation with the woman, and would instead speak clearly and concisely to her companions. 

"training," ash continued. "i'm not sure how haru - " 

the woman cleared her throat. 

"we'll find some 'mons and see how good ya are at fighting one on one, alright?" 

[attr="class","smdbody"] ash's eyes would narrow, her hardened gaze having fixed itself upon the trio of 'mons. the sight of them had spurred the blue-haired stranger into action, and she would effectively snuff out the ekan's consciousness within the span of seconds. 

"return, you two." 

once her eevee and quilava had been placed within their respective capsules, the brunette would momentarily face the drapion. she grinned widely at the creature, whom cocked her head to the side in reaction to such a wolfish expression. 

"you sit back and relax, girl. i've got this handled." 
 
drapion blinked and then dipped her head lightly after a moment of appearing to consider these words. 

'did she understand me?'

ash didn't linger upon such a question, and would instead reach for her belt. the pokemon to be released would be her kingdra, whom hovered serenely a  little over one foot from the earth. 

"queen, the zangoose is yours." 

queen dipped her head in acknowledgement, her crimson gaze fixing itself upon the zangoose. the normal-type bared her teeth the moment the dual-type was introduced to the field, her gaze flitting to her defeated subordinate and the limp ekans whom would have served as bait. 

'looks like it's thinking about running.' 

the brunette watched on as the wild beast carefully weighed its options, the expression that twisted at its muzzle notably severe. after a moment spent of doing this, it flexed its claws and took a threatening step toward queen. 

'she's going to fight, then.' 

queen appeared unfazed, her many years spent in the wild having remedied her of such unnecessary reactions when faced with danger. instead, the kingdra would await her mistress's instructions, idle and remarkably patient. 

"use scald!" 

from her narrow mouth, pressurized water that was positively blistering shot forth. the moment it impacted the zangoose was the moment that a raspy shout of agony would slip out of the heavily-furred beast. the normal-type writhed and released yet another cry, the now reddened flesh beneath its fur suffering from the frothy water. it was also partly soaked, and would eventually settle upon its four legs as it recovered from the blow, sucking in a harsh breath before it lunged forward. 

'it's strong,' ash thought, raising a brow as she witnessed the normal-type's lunge. 'strong enough to take a blow from queen, even.' 

its claws exuded a glow prior to it delivering a slash upon her kingdra's form. the power behind it sent the dual-type roughly several meters back, her once calm features giving way to an agonized look. the dual-type's formerly pristine and tough hide that had been gifted to her upon evolution had been sliced into, irrevocably marred by an attack that dug a little too deep. thankfully, it hadn't cut past that, the damage shallow enough not to have caused the dragon to bleed or suffer from a grievous blow. 

"dragon pulse!" 

an orb of light manifested before the kingdra's narrow mouth before it was launched toward the zangoose. and to both the pokemon and her human's counterparts annoyance, the normal-type would promptly dodge before lunging forward to close the distance between itself and the dual-type. the 'crush claw' to follow was just as unpleasant as the last, and the curled end of the kingdra's tail would even scrape against the earth. 

"focus, girl. focus." 

the dual-type nodded, blinked, and once the zangoose raised its claw to deliver yet another strike, the female made use of 'agility' to avoid the blow before releasing a twister from her maw. it forced the normal-type a considerable distance away, and would very nearly send it slamming into a nearby tree. 

"good thinking, girl! try staying out of range!" 

ash would be reminded of her sibling and his electrike, whom had worked to maintain a solid distance from her medicham during their last battle - whom was dedicated to the brutal art of close combat. 

'i think we'll try the same thing here. queen's a special attacker - she's built for long range.' 

the kingdra's eyesight was also beyond exceptional, the gift formerly used to hunt down prey when she had been a seadra. she could even execute precise shots that allowed for her to decimate a far away target. 

"zan-goose!" 

zangoose produced an 'x-scissor' that queenjust barely avoided, her eyes bright and focused as she faced the normal-type fully. 

"another 'dragon pulse'!" 

the attack successfully impacted the zangoose's middle, leaving it gasping and struggling to stand as it slowly recovered from the staggering pain that now originated from its belly. it raised its muzzle toward the woman and her companion before sneering, the look ugly as it forced itself to stand and lunge forward despite the injuries that now slowed its movements. 

"shit, it's still pretty fast!" 

and it was also still a hard hitter. ash immediately recognized 'close combat' and winced sympathetically as her dragon was battered ruthlessly by sharpened claws that dug into her again and again. 

"brine!" 

the salty water sent the pokemon flying, the liquid irritating its wounds and causing it to flop uselessly upon the ground a good distance away. its eyes were still bright and only partly alert as it blinked widely, its mouth held open as it continued to desperately suck in air. 

'i think - ' 

ash licked her lips, hastily retrieved a great ball that had been within her possession, and gave it a toss.